


Strawberry Parfaits, Summer Breezes, and Electric Waves

by savanting



Series: Kashimalin's 50 Kisses Challenge [23]
Category: Fruits Basket, Fruits Basket (Anime 2019), Fruits Basket - Takaya Natsuki (Manga)
Genre: ALL THE FLUFF, Age Difference, Age gap relationship, Awkward Conversations, Awkward Dates, Awkward Kissing, Awkward Romance, Awkwardness, Canon Compliant, F/M, First Date, First Dates, Fluff, One Shot, Post-Canon, Short One Shot, Summer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-15 21:20:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28570650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/savanting/pseuds/savanting
Summary: Saki Hanajima didn't quitethinkwhen she came across Kazuma Sohma and mentioned strawberry parfaits of all things - but sometimes things happen for a reason, don't they? One-Shot.[Prompt 35. An awkward kiss given after a first date.]Using Kashimalin's 50 kisses prompt list: https://www.google.com/amp/s/kashimalin-fanfiction.tumblr.com/post/178524845380/50-kiss-prompts/amp
Relationships: Hanajima Saki & Honda Tohru, Hanajima Saki & Honda Tohru & Uotani Arisa, Hanajima Saki & Uotani Arisa, Hanajima Saki/Sohma Kazuma, Honda Tohru/Sohma Kyou
Series: Kashimalin's 50 Kisses Challenge [23]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2023708
Comments: 3
Kudos: 10





	Strawberry Parfaits, Summer Breezes, and Electric Waves

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own any incarnation of _Fruits Basket_.
> 
> Thanks to @Five_seas for the pairing and the prompt. Let's just say I'm more like Hanajima than any other Fruits Basket character - even without the waves. The awkwardness is one thing we both share.
> 
> (And I know they're not a canon couple because of the sequel _Fruits Basket Another_ \- but that doesn't mean that Saki didn't try to date Kazuma for a time. There are a lot of _Fruits Basket_ couples that are canon and also age-gap relationships.)
> 
> The original kiss prompt list: https://www.google.com/amp/s/kashimalin-fanfiction.tumblr.com/post/178524845380/50-kiss-prompts/amp

Wearing all black even during the height of summer had become an art to Saki Hanajima. Sweat? Grime? In her handbag, she always made sure to keep a supply of clean handkerchiefs and moist towelettes - as well as small tubes of make-up for any touch-ups necessary. No one would have guessed Saki was the vain type, but her friends Tohru and Arisa always made sure to spoil her around her birthday with high-end make-up from the trendy shops in Harajuku.

If the Yuki Sohma fangirls had ever known, they would have teased her relentlessly (though Saki would have paid them back double, of course).

Now that high school was becoming more of a memory, Saki had needed to find a way to fill her time. University exams had not been in the cards - thankfully, her parents hadn’t pushed her in that regard, knowing how she had needed remedial classes and summer school throughout most of her tenure as a student - but a part-time job had been necessary to keep some hold of sanity. With the way her electric wave cognition picked up on feelings, it could be tumultuous to be cooped up even with her own family for long periods of uninterrupted time.

What she hadn’t expected was for Tohru to introduce her to Kagura Sohma who had just opened her own business: a cat cafe.

“I don’t know,” Saki had murmured to Tohru. “Animals and I have a tremulous relationship…”

Tohru had just grinned at her. “Won’t it make you happy to be surrounded by such adorable faces every day?”

Saki had never known Tohru to be such a cat person, but wonders never ceased.

Meeting Kagura Sohma was also an...experience.

“You have just the vibe I’m looking for,” Kagura had said, pinching her fingers together as if she were looking at Saki through the lens of a camera. “Cool! Unaffected! Intriguing! Perfect type!”

Saki blinked at the sudden use of English with Kagura’s last words, and the Sohma just smiled. “Any friend of Tohru’s is a friend of mine.”

The job itself was easier than Saki had imagined. The worst thing she had to do was clean the hidden-away litter boxes, but that was a small price to pay - especially when one day a black cat named Yami rubbed his head against her skirted thigh, effectively marking her as a part of his territory. A part of his found family.

Also, it was comforting that animals’ electric waves were much… _calmer_ than the ones that humans emitted.

The only downside was that Megumi, her little brother, was allergic to cats. Every day after each shift she had to make a quick stop at Tohru’s apartment just to change clothes before heading home.

This might have been an inconvenience - except sometimes Kazuma Sohma, Kyo’s adoptive father, was there for a visit.

And that was usually much more a delight than a problem.

One day, after a short shift of four hours, Saki let herself into Tohru’s apartment and found herself spooked to find Kazuma sitting in the living room, his legs settled onto a cushion.

“Greetings, Saki-san,” Kazuma said, his voice as good-natured as usual, and Saki felt...unnerved. A vague worry bubbled up: would he be able to see all the stray cat fur on her black clothes? Would he laugh and remark on it? Would she be able to quell the embarrassment and mortification?

“Hello, Kazuma-san,” Saki murmured, edging to the guest bathroom as discretely as possible. “Did Tohru leave for work already?”

“She just went on her way,” Kazuma replied, sipping the tea he had sitting in front of him. “I was going to wait for Kyo, but he’ll be late coming home from his classes. He says I should get myself one of those smartphones. What do you think of them, Saki-san?”

 _They have a tendency to short-circuit around me…_ But could she say that to Kazuma? When she was already probably seen as Tohru Honda’s _odd_ friend?

“I don’t really have an opinion on them,” she hedged. “I’ve never used one myself.”

“Hmm.” Kazuma took another thoughtful sip of tea. “Would you care for a cup of tea?”

Saki blinked, thoughts flooding from her head before she could grasp them. “I actually could go for a strawberry parfait,” she said, somewhat airily.

“Oh.” Kazuma offered a considering tone. He tapped his fingers against the table. “Shall we go to a cafe then?”

_What?_

Saki was quiet for a moment, before saying, “Let me change out of my uniform and then we can go.”

She supposed it was the closest they would ever get to a date.

*

What started out with a strawberry parfait - which was delicious - segued into a stroll in the downtown area not far where Tohru worked as a newly minted manager at one of the Sohma family’s company buildings.

Saki kept glancing at Kazuma, especially when he was just observing his surroundings, and she felt… _soothed_.

Though Kyo likely thought that her fascination with Kazuma was purely some way to get under the younger Sohma’s skin, there was really only one reason she had gravitated toward Kazuma: he had pleasant waves.

“What is it?” Kazuma asked, and Saki found herself caught in his gaze.

It seemed she hadn’t been as surreptitious as she had thought.

“I was just thinking how - how friendly you are,” she said, deciding to go with the easiest explanation, especially when considering how to relate the concept of her waves to someone who was so _normal_ like Kazuma Sohma.

“Really? So many people think I’m standoffish.”

Saki couldn’t help smiling. “I think you’re just perfect.”

At first she thought the words would have gone unnoticed - she had said them so softly - until she saw Kazuma stumble a step. She reached out a hand to catch his arm even though he seemed in little danger of falling.

And the way he looked at her right then - she didn’t even feel like she could remember how to breathe.

In just a moment, she had make things irreparably awkward - and she would have blasted herself with her own waves if she could have.

 _Silly girl,_ she thought to herself. _You know you don’t deserve someone like him._

But then, slowly, she saw a faint smile bloom on Kazuma’s lips.

“You’re perfect just the way you are too, Saki-san.”

Any other time, Saki would have let the words wash over her and then would have shrugged their power off. The waves beaming outward at her told her enough: Kazuma was the kind of person who was good-natured towards everyone, no matter the person, and she wasn't special in that regard.

But this time…

Gently, before she could overthink the action, she pressed a soft kiss to Kazuma’s lips. Instantly she felt a spark in his wavelengths - like surprise, maybe even delight, it was too quick to tell - before she pulled back and looked into his widened eyes.

“Thank you for humoring me, Kazuma-san,” she said, her voice just as soft as if she had been telling a secret.

Tomorrow, she would think about the repercussions - _What would Tohru think?_ \- but today, at least, she could look up at the sky and smile with an open heart.


End file.
